Hengli Petrochemical Industrial Park, which mainly produces purified terephthalic acid, began operations on Wednesday in Dalian, Northeast China's Liaoning province.

With a total investment of 26 billion yuan ($4.12 billion), the project is expected to make an annual revenue of 200 billion yuan by 2015, according to Chen Jianhua, president of Jiangsu-based Hengli Group, one of the world's biggest weaving companies.

"The new PTA project at Dalian Changxingdao Economic Development Area will help extend the production chain of Hengli Group and ease the shortage of raw materials for the domestic textile industry," said Chen.

PTA is widely used in making textiles, bottles, packaging and film products.

Chen said they have made great efforts to make the project environmentally friendly, using the advanced technology of US-based Invista, one of the world's largest integrated producers of polymers and fibers.

"The technology is of a high level, but the energy consumption is quite low," he said.

Li Wancai, mayor of Dalian, said the new PTA project has great significance for the extension of Dalian's petrochemical production chain and the structural adjustment of the industry.

Located on the Liaodong Peninsula, Changxingdao is an important part of the Liaoning Coastal Economic Belt, which is enjoying favorable policies for rapid development.

The petrochemical sector, shipbuilding and ocean engineering, equipment manufacturing and port logistics will be pillar industries for Changxingdao, Li said.

Jin Cheng, head of Changxingdao administration, said the project is the first step in building a world-class petrochemical industrial base.

The petrochemical park covers a planning area of 110 square kilometers. By 2030, it is expected to accommodate 40 million-ton class oil refining, 7 million-ton PTA and other petrochemical products, such as ethylene, propylene, PX, rubber, polyester and polyurethane.

Jin said a world-class petrochemical base must have first-class service providers. Based on this, Changxingdao engaged world-famous companies to provide high-level public facilities, such as seawater desalination, sewage treatment, industrial gas and wharf warehousing integration.